


Shepard and Vakarian, Lovers Extraordinaire

by khryseraph



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:54:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 1,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26255230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khryseraph/pseuds/khryseraph
Summary: I've noticed a significant absence of Shepard/Vakarian pairings on this site, so I aim to help remedy that. I will be playing a paragon female Shepard so that I can romance Garrus in-game and record the stories here in-between missions as a male Shepard. I hope that makes sense.
Relationships: Male Shepard/Garrus Vakarian
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	1. Lazarus Project

_"Wake up, Shepard."_

...

That was the first voice I'd fully heard in two years. Miranda's voice, as commanding and panicked as I'd ever hear it. 

As I sit here on the shuttle, having just briefed Miranda and Jacob about my priorities for the mission to Freedom's Progress ( _"Our first priority is to look for survivors."_ ), I can only wonder about what awaits my future.

This trip reminds me of when I sat and watched the attack during the Skyllian Blitz. The fight that made me hero. Just like now, when I go to the empty remains of an abandoned human colony, I was treated as a hero but felt like anything but.

I rubbed my helmet. The new Blood Dragon armor supplied to me by Cerberus looked pretty bad-ass, but it definitely felt new. I wasn't used to it. I wasn't used to anything in this new environment.

Jacob seems very by-the-book, but he's a good man at heart. Miranda... well, she's not very personable, but her dedication to her values is admirable. I only hope she'll one day be as dedicated to me. 

It's time to go. Hopefully there will be survivors. Maybe something more, something to tell us what's going on at these rumored missing colonists.


	2. Freedom's Progress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These early chapters especially will be relatively short. Also, assume that Shepard may have felt little sparks for Garrus in ME1, but was still early in his career as a Reaper-fighter, so he was pretty focused on the mission.

Joker and Tali are alive!

Gods. I can't believe I ran into Tali, here of all places. I wonder how her team not only found out about Freedom's Progress' abduction, but also beat us to the punch in getting there. It makes no difference. 

I'm sitting in my cabin, reading through the dossiers provided to me by the Illusive Man. I don't trust him one bit, but these people don't look Cerberus-affiliated. 

I think my first stop will be to the Citadel. Meet with Anderson and recruit Kasumi Goto in one strike. After that, it looks like Omega might be a good bet. Get Archangel, the Mercenary, and Mordin Solus at the same time, get a crew of six right off the bat. Hopefully this works out.

Joker's calling me to the cockpit. It looks like the Citadel is hailing us.


	3. Meeting with the Council

Well, that went about as well as can be expected. The Council reinstated my Spectre status, so that's something, at least. 

Kasumi Goto seems like she'll be a helpful asset. Very sneaky. I'll need to keep my credit chit on a short leash around her, I think.

Gods, if Garrus could see me now. The Council was never his favorite, and with their denials of the Reaper threat and refusal to aid me in any actual physical means, it would confirm all the griping he did those years ago. 

I hope I see him again. That'd be nice.

Off to Omega, then. Hopefully it isn't as filthy a place as it's been made out to be. And I hope my new crew members are actually worth a damn.


	4. Recruiting Archangel

_"It's been difficult, but it's good to see a friendly face."_

...

When I heard those words come out of Garrus' mouth, I had so much hope that maybe, _maybe_ things could go back to how they were before we lost the Normandy.

Then he took a rocket to the face. 

I tossed and turned in my bed that night, still hearing those vile death gurgles that he made as he laid there dying. I thanked every god, goddess, and spirit out there for his safe recovery. 

If I'm being honest, the scars aren't all that bad. I gave him a hug when he walked into the conference room, recovered. He wasn't really sure what to do with that and kinda stood there, awkward. At least he didn't push me off. 

After the third bout of nightmares waking me up, of seeing that floor coated in thick, blue blood, I went to get a drink. Lo and behold, Garrus had beaten me to the punch. He was drinking a dextro-compatible drink, looking fairly wobbly. I sat down next to him.

"How's it going, Garrus?"

He looked over at me, spilling some of his drink. This was weird, I had known him to be able to handle alcohol pretty well.

"Oh, h- hey Commander Shep-pard." He put an emphasis on the "p." "I'm just drinkin' some problems away, you know how it goes."

"I do know how it goes. What happened to your team, Garrus?"

The turian had a dark look cross his face.

"It's rude to ask people about their biggest mistake in life, Shepard."

Shepard nodded, staying silent. The question still hung in the air.

"I was drawn away from my team by a traitor. By the time I returned, all but two were dead. They didn't last long."

Shepard put a hand on Garrus' shoulder. The turian didn't shake it off.

Shepard ran his fingers up Garrus' neck, feeling two different textures. There were the rough-hewn leathery plates and the softer, more malleable skin in between and in the vital areas. The skin was almost human in texture.

Garrus stood up quickly, a blue blush tinging his cheeks.

"I need to get some sleep. G'night Commander."

He walked off.

Shepard watched the turian's hips as he strode out of the lounge. 

"Good night, Garrus."


	5. Recruiting Mordin Solus

_If you need me, I won't let a cough hold me back._

...

I was so excited to have Garrus back by my side that I let those words convince me. Perhaps they were hollow, uttered out of an inbred sense of loyalty to your commander. Regardless, I'm glad I had him by my side as I slayed more Blue Sons and Blood Pack mercs. 

The first time I heard him shout "Scratch one!" in the fight, my heart soared. 

And when he started coughing and getting a fever, my heart dropped.

We got to the clinic as quickly as we could. Luckily, the doctor had an immunosuppressant that kept Garrus healthy. From there on, it was easy as pie to handle the remaining Blood Pack guards.

When we got back to the ship, I took a shower. Felt like I needed it after being near all those burning bodies, the stench was clinging to my armor.

After it, I dressed in an N7 hoodie and some sweatpants and went to the main battery. As always, Garrus was working away on gun calibrations.

"Knock, knock," I said.

He didn't turn around.

"Commander. Thank you for stopping by. I wanted to apologize for last night."

I looked at him curiously, tapping his shoulder so he could turn around and look me in the eyes. From my training on working with turians, I knew they prioritized direct eye contact in conversations as a sign of honesty.

"There's no need to apologize, Garrus. I actually came here to apologize to you for bringing you into that damned plague district today."

He shook his head.

"Like I said, Commander. No cough would hold me back from doing my job."

I nodded, feeling slightly down still inside.

"Well... keep up the good work."

I turned to leave.

"Shepard?"

I turned, looking at Garrus. He looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"Yes?"

He twiddled his digits.

"Um... Nevermind. I'll see you in the mess tomorrow?"

I nodded, smiling.

"See you then."

As I went back to the elevator, I got a "Commander?" asked to me from my right. It was Miranda.

I turned towards her.

"What is it, Miranda?" I tried not to let annoyance fill my voice. She was the other person with us in the field today, and I wish she had talked me out of bringing Garrus along with us. 

"May we speak privately?"

I nodded, sighing, and followed her into her office.

I sat down across from her, feeling like I was at the principal's office.

"What do you need, Miranda?"

"How is our new turian friend settling in? Is he feeling okay after the plague?"

I bristled.

"Yes, he's doing fine. If that's all you needed me for, you could've asked him yourself."

She looked slightly awkward, but quickly covered it up.

"Well, I also noticed that you've spent a lot of time with him since he's been onboard. You two are close friends, correct?"

I stood up.

"Listen, XO. Who I choose to spend my time with is my choice. I don't need to be questioned about it by inferior officers!"

I stormed out of there.

"Touchy," she said with a hint of a smile on her face.

Garrus received a holo-message that night.

_Check your room for bugs. Miranda has the whole ship bugged._


	6. Recruiting the Krogan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah, to be Commander Shepard and in love with a Turian

_There's something about him. I just want to hold him close and whisper, "It will be all right."_

...

There was a part of me that wanted to deck Yeoman Chambers when she spoke about Garrus like that. 

I'm not saying that she was wrong. But she has no right to be the one to say it. She'd better stay away from him, or there'll be hell to pay.

I think she could pick up on my anger, because she quickly dropped the subject to ask what I would do with the Krogan tank we had on standby. I ignored her and went to Garrus.

"Hey, Garrus."

He was calibrating our brand-new Thanix Cannons, excited to play with his new toy.

"Hello, Commander. Thanks for the upgrade, by the way. No Collector ship will stand up to these bad boys."

I chuckled.

"Of course, Garrus. Thanks for the recommendation. Listen, I think I'm about to do something really stupid and I need you to either talk me out of it or make sure it doesn't kill me."

He turned to me and sighed.

"You're about to activate the krogan, aren't you?"

I smiled widely at him.

...

I stood outside of Grunt's room, trying to wipe off the nutrient-fluid my uniform was now practically soaked in.

Garrus stood there, heavy pistol in hand. 

"Still think that was a good idea?"

I chuckled.

"I never thought nor said it was a _good_ idea. That's why you were here, ready to pounce if it went south. Besides, he seems nice enough."

We walked back to the elevators together. 

On the silent elevator ride up to the crew quarters, I changed the subject.

"Did you hear about Ferris Fields?"

Garrus nodded.

"I talked with Crewman Hadley about it and his brother. He's really down."

Shepard nodded solemnly.

"I'm worried, Garrus. Am I doing the right thing? Working with Cerberus? What's stopping me from going to the Alliance and asking them for a crew to parse this shit out?"

The elevator doors opened. Garrus sighed as we walked towards the main battery.

"That's the thing though, Commander. I'm not sure they would help you. They didn't bring you back to life. They didn't rebuild the Normandy for you. Hell, they practically disavowed ever knowing you after you died. They made you out like you were crazy."

Garrus was getting really upset. His mandibles flared. He stroked the right one, it looked like it was hurting him.

"I... didn't know that. They smeared me after I died?"

Garrus nodded.

"I don't know if working with Cerberus is the right thing, but they seem to be the only ones who care about the Collectors. For now, at least, it may be best to let the Alliance go."

I nodded.

"Thanks, Garrus. I'll let you get back to your calibrations."

He made a little clicking sound that happens when he's talking about something he enjoys.

"I hope you sleep well tonight, Commander."

_So do I. But it'd be better if you were with me._


End file.
